Whether your child is having a routine test or being admitted overnight for a more complicated procedure, Child Life Specialists help create a positive experience for families during their child’s outpatient visit or hospital stay. They are specially trained and certified to help children, adolescents, and families understand and cope with illness, treatment, and hospitalization.

As soon as Zachary was born, he needed treatment for several serious heart conditions, including pulmonary atresia, which meant that his pulmonary valve was sealed shut. Now, after several successful surgeries, 11-year-old Zachary says he wants to help other kids fight heart disease. He's doing so by actively fundraising to help the volunteer work cardiologist Craig Sable, MD, and his team provide in Uganda.

“Zach has been a like a little ambassador for our Africa work,” Dr. Sable said.

Deciding on Care: Why Children's?

A few years ago, Connor’s health was unexpectedly placed in danger when a simple game of catch ended in a baseball striking him just above his left eyebrow. It was an emergency situation, and Children’s National was ready with specialists in brain trauma who were prepared to operate at a moment’s notice.

Five pediatric medical device innovators were awarded $50,000 each in seed funding at the second annual National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) Competition held last week.

Did you know that some children with certain medical conditions, such as sickle cell anemia, need one to 10 units of blood per month or that one unit of blood can be used for as many as four of five children? The Blood Donor Center collects thousands of blood donations every year and provides essential services for Children's National patients. Learn how you can donate blood today!

Children’s National Health System nurse Clydia McAbee, or "Miss McAbee" to her patients, recently completed her last week on the job she called home for 50 years. When Miss McAbee began her career, in 1965, she donned a white dress and nurse’s cap. While she first treated cancer patients, she spent the majority of her career at the Shaw Health Center, treating generations of families as if they were her own.